Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 2.5%

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 2.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $219.36 and last traded at $219.49. 13,654,647 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 63,639,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.89.

Apple Trading Down 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.44.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.